BLT Salad

Today is my last first day of school, and I am going to celebrate by doing one of the things I do best - putting off reading for class.  That's right, I am celebrating the start of school by not doing schoolwork.  That's just how I operate, and it's served me well so far.  Instead of diving right into a riveting chapter on business associations I plan on blogging, going for a run, doing a couple crosswords, and maybe even doing a little cleaning.  You should see the volume of cleaning I can do during finals time.  I more than make up for the lack of cleaning I do the rest of the semester.  That "maybe even doing a little cleaning" has officially changed to definitely cleaning thanks to a wind-whipped blinds knocking a glass lamp off of my nightstand.  Fun fun.  

Speaking of fun, today's recipe involves bacon.  Bacon.  Fun.  Fun.  Bacon.  Makes sense, right?  I love bacon.  I love fun.  I love bacon and fun.  A bacon taste test is a perfect way to combine bacon with fun, and that is exactly what my mom and I did a few days ago.  I've mentioned before that my #1 bacon is Amana Peppered Bacon, and it is still at the top of my list.  Don't start thinking that I am devoted to consuming APB exclusively, though.  Unless it is from Hormel, I will happily try other brands of bacon.  Very happily.  And I did just that last week.  

In addition to the three packages of Amana bacon I got to stick in my freezer and ration out until my next trip to Iowa, I picked up a package of Nueske's smoked bacon.  Nueske's is a Wisconsin company which has been smoking, spicing, and curing meat for decades.  Their bacon is a little on the pricey side, but you definitely get what you pay for.  It's a little leaner than your average bacon, and my mom and I both thought it tasted ever so slightly like Canadian bacon.  While Amana bacon is still at the top of my list, I certainly won't mind eating Nueske's when my Amana stash runs out.  If you don't live in the upper midwest and you'd like to try it, you can order it from their website.  

While my mom and I would be perfectly happy conducting a bacon taste test by just eating strip after strip of bacon, we thought we should probably make a real meal out of it.  We cooked up some bacon and threw together a BLT salad.  A BLT salad is the perfect way to eat bacon without guilt.  You get to enjoy the crispy and chewy bits of pork alongside fresh, healthy ingredients, save the little bit of blue cheese that we added.  It's a win-win.  

BLT Salad

1/2-1 head romaine lettuce

2 heirloom tomatoes

4 strips bacon, cooked

2 hard boiled eggs

2 tbsp blue cheese, crumbled

Makes 2 very large entree salads or 4 side salads

Tear the lettuce into small pieces.  Chop the tomatoes and eggs.  Crumble the bacon.  Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  

The tomatoes we used were incredibly juicy, so we didn't even bother with dressing.  If your tomatoes aren't so juicy you could drizzle the salad with a little olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice or a little vinegar.  

The BLT salad was a great meal for a warm summer day and a great excuse for chowing down on bacon.